Eye of the Storm
by cobhc94
Summary: When Rouge shows up to steal the M.E., Knuckles is nowhere to be found and she begins to realize that the treasure she's after is red, not green. But after coming across a shocking discovery, she can only pray its not too late. KnuxXRouge. Oneshot. R&R!


The light breeze gently brushed against her face as she flew far above the ocean in solitude, a mere speck in the vast horizon. Rouge the Bat was ascending high into the sky, drawing nearer and nearer to her destination: Angel Island, a magnificent floating island above the sea that was home to Knuckles the Echidna, who guarded the ancient Master Emerald.

The emerald was one of the most beautiful jewels the feisty treasure hunter had ever laid eyes on. From the very day she laid eyes on it, she knew she had to have it; it would truly be the ultimate centerpiece of any treasure hunter's collection. But deep in her heart, the shiny green gem wasn't all she was after. The thing that made her insides bubble with pleasure was no emerald but rather, the echidna that guarded it. _'Why can't I stop thinking about him…'_ she angrily thought to herself. _'I despise him! That knuckleheaded dope is the most annoying obstacle I have ever had the misfortune to stumble across!'_

Of course, the more she told herself that, that more she knew just how wrong she was. If the truth be told, she had an everlasting crush on the echidna. Everything about him made her heart burn with passion. His masculine body, his deep violet gaze, that stupid cocky smile… and on top of that she had such admiration in him, with the way he was so strong willed, so determined… it really struck a chord with her. As strong as her feelings were though, Rouge was far too stubborn and proud to reveal the depth of her infatuation. She stole hearts, not gave hers away! _'Besides,'_ she thought bitterly, _'He's such a cocky, arrogant asshole. He'd probably laugh in my face, given how much he hates me…'_

Rouge picked up her pace as she arrived at her destination, soaring gracefully from the base of the floating island and speeding her way up along the rocky side before gliding her way over the treetops towards the master emerald shrine. Above her, she noticed a set of dark storm clouds forming in the horizon, gradually drawing nearer as light gusts of wind blew against her, picking up strength with every next set. _'There was no rain projected in the forecast today,_' the thought oddly. _'I'd better hurry up and get this done before the storm comes in._'

As she grew nearer to the shrine however, Rouge noticed that Knuckles was nowhere in sight of the altar. She scanned the area with her bird's eye vision but to no avail; he wasn't anywhere to be found. _'Could he maybe be hiding to try and catch me off guard?'_ she thought to herself. _'Ha! As if I could be fooled by such a futile trick.'_

Rouge cautiously landed silently on the altar, keeping her senses alert for even the slightest sign of the guardian. But he was not there as she had suspected, to attack her blindside from behind one of the pillars or from a nearby tree of higher altitude. As seconds melded into minutes, it became perfectly clear to Rouge that Knuckles simply wasn't there. But where could he possibly be then? It wasn't like him to wander away from the emerald for 10 seconds, let alone the couple of minutes she had been there.

His absence struck a nerve with Rouge, who was becoming increasingly irritated. _'I fly all the way up here amid a forming storm to steal his precious little emerald and he doesn't even have the balls to be here when I show up?'_ She kicked one of the stone pillars in her aggravation, cursing under her breath at the stab of pain nipping her toes. That stupid knucklehead seriously had someplace better to be? The entire fun of stealing the emerald was because she enjoyed Knuckles' retaliation…

Then it struck her: was that it? Was that the only reason she made the effort to fly all the way up to the island time and time again, even though she always came home empty handed? Was it all just because she enjoyed irritating him, teasing him, spending the time with him? Because now that she was standing in front of the emerald, free to take it and go, she no longer felt any inclination to do so. It was all becoming clear to her now: she hadn't really _wanted_ to in a long time… what she really wanted was something… more. "Knuckles," she whispered, closing her eyes, rubbing her hand against her cheek. She turned back to face the emerald and saw something she hadn't noticed before, a tiny white sheet, flapping in the wind. From a distance it looked like a tiny piece of paper. As she approached the emerald, she could make out the sight of writing. It was a note. Rouge peeled the note from the green gem and looked down at it. It read:

_Rouge,_

_I know that you'll be the first and only person to read this note since you're the only one who comes up here at all. That's why this is for you. Oh man, where the hell do I begin? Remember all those times we'd rip on each other, battering it back and forth? You used to call me an antisocial homo who had nothing better to do than baby-sit a rock. Hahaha, it was actually pretty funny at the time and I guess it even still is now… but unfortunately, it's undeniable. It's so lonely up here… I thought I'd gotten used to it over the years. The entire purpose of my life was to protect the master emerald… that was the fate that was handed to me. I never understood why, but I was fine with it… that all changed when I met you. You are so beautiful and so… special… I don't know what it is that makes you so precious to me but there you have it. After I met you I spent my life up here wrestling against thinking about you; I knew that I could never fulfill my duty as guardian and love you at the same time, even though I knew you would never feel the same way. For awhile, it was a huge breath of air to spend time with you up here, even if it was just to prevent you from stealing from me. I know the emerald was all you ever cared about so… now it's yours. I sincerely hope you're happy. As for me, I think I'm headed off to a darker environment. I can't stand it anymore Rouge. I can't stand thinking about you 24/7, thinking of what my life could be without this terrible curse. I can't keep living wishing you felt even half of what I do. It's time for me to leave this world… I just want to die, to be able to fall into a dream forever. But before I go, I just want you to know… I love you._

Rouge stared down at the note, in stunned silence. Her mind was racing, unable to think. This was the last thing she would have ever expected to hear from him; he had never been so free of his feelings with her. Did he really think she was beautiful? She gently touched the bottom of the parchment where he had written plain as day, 'I love you.' A long tear trickled down her cheek and landed on the parchment, soaking the ink. Had Knuckles really reached such a rock bottom point in his life that he had really committed suicide? How could he? So determined, so tough… As more tears followed, the letter became blotted. Soon, it was illegible. _'He can't be dead,' _she thought defiantly. _'He CAN'T be!'_

Rouge turned around, facing the cliff behind the altar that lead into the deep rainforests of Angel Island. But what she saw at the top of the cliff made her stop breathing. On the top of the cliff stood Knuckles, dressed warmly in a sweater, a noose around his neck, the rope attached to a sturdy branch protruding from the steep rock below him, hanging over the side of the cliff. _'No!' _she thought in paralyzing shock. _'He's really going to do it!'_ She took flight, speeding to the top of the tall cliff as quickly as possible. "KNUCKLES, STOP!" she screamed. "DON'T DO IT, PLEASE!" But it was too late; he had already made the descent, the noose tightening as he fell, stopping with a sudden jerk. His legs dangled still as his body hung over the cliff, slowly swinging into the rock due to the harsh gusts of wind.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She wailed in despair as she flung herself against his body, holding him tightly in her grasp. She was too late; he was gone… gone forever. And he would never know just how much she did in fact, care for him in return. She cried silently into his cheek, her tears soaking the side of his face. "No…" she whispered, as a light drizzle started to come down from the approaching storm clouds. "No, no, no, no! This can't be happening!" she slapped the side of her face, praying to God she was in a dream. "C'mon wake up, this has to be a dream!" she exclaimed frantically as her slaps grew increasingly brutal. "WAKE UP!" Nothing. The same lifeless body was still swinging from the rope.

She burst into another flow of tears, piercing the peaceful silence of Angel Island with her devastated cries. Pulling his body back into her embrace, she pressed her face against the top of Knuckles' head. "You clueless idiot!" she cried. "You dumb fucking knucklehead! Why couldn't you understand the entire time? For the love of God, I loved you! I loved you…"

And that's when she felt a sharp, constant vibration by the side of her head. What the hell was that, some kind of cleansing ritual of the ancient echidna clan? The nerve of them! Couldn't they give her a minute alone? Then, she heard a soft chuckling sound. Rouge looked down in bewilderment. The vibration was coming from Knuckles, he was laughing! He wasn't dead at all! "Wow Batgirl," he muttered in an amused voice. "Never thought I'd hear such words come out of your mouth."

"How the hell are you still alive?" Rouge screamed. "She threw herself off of him and maintained at his altitude by hovering.

"Aw, are you disappointed?" he asked in a mock tone, a sheepish grin crossing his face. His cheeks were as bright red as his fur. "After everything you just said?" Rouge was too stunned to speak. "Check it out," he said, pulling up his sweater shirt, revealing a harness attached to the noose. "One of these things will keep death from my doorstep anyday…"

That's when Rouge understood. Knuckles never meant to commit suicide. The entire thing was a ruse, a plot to worm out the feelings that burned deep inside her. And boy, did he get the best of her. "So, if you'd help me down-" he was cut off as Rouge tossed a blade at the rope, cutting him free of the branch, dropping him to the rainforest far below at the bottom of the cliff.

"!" he screamed as he fell rapidly, looking extremely pathetic as he plunged upside down from over two hundred feet into a rainforest with a rope attached to his neck.

Knuckles broke through the canopy and landed in the luscious stream that flowed through the forest, sinking like a rock deep below the frigid water. He yelped for air, cold water filling his lungs as he frantically worked his way towards the surface. Breaking the surface, he paddled to the stream bank as fast as he could, finally reaching land where he sprawled out in pain, coughing up and spluttering water. _'I guess I deserved that,'_ he thought to himself. What he saw when he looked up didn't give him an encouraging feeling; no more than ten feet in front of him stood Rouge, looking so angry that her head might explode.

Her face was a dark shadow, an uncontrollable look of rage spread across it. She was so furious that thick, foaming saliva was welling up in her mouth as she tried to form words. The sight terrified Knuckles; he'd never witnessed Rouge that angry before!

She took a step closer. "You… STUPID…" she roared mercilessly, spit flying from her mouth.

"Rouge, calm down," Knuckles cautioned, holding up his hands in protest, sounding extremely nervous.

"RETARDED… FUCKING…" She was still stepping forward, her voice getting louder and louder.

"Rouge, I can explain…"

"GODDAMN KNUCKLEHEADED BASTARD!" she screamed, flinging herself on top of Knuckles and mercilessly pounding him with her fists.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH, GET OFFA ME YOU CRAZY BATTY-"

Rouge ignored his howls of pain, just kept pounding him harder and harder, and transitioning her aim to his face. Her wrath knew no limits as she slugged Knuckles in the face again and again, and again until it was bruised and bleeding. And then, just like that, her blows quickly weakened as she began to cry, before finally ending her relentless assault. The expression of rage left her face, replaced with sorrow.

"Why… why would you do that to me?" she sobbed, her arms now dangling loosely at her sides.

"Rouge…" Knuckles said gently. "I'm sorry, I just… I didn't know any other way to tell you…"

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SCARED I WAS?" She screamed. Knuckles looked up at her in shame, immediately feeling remorseful for the stunt he'd pulled. What a dick move… he could hardly blame her for the ruthless beating she had administered upon him. In fact, he almost wished for more.

"I thought… I thought I'd lost you…" she whispered. "I thought…" Tears flittered across her clear turquoise eyes.

"Sssssh," Knuckles whispered, putting a finger up to her lips. Knuckles gently reached up and pulled her down upon his chest, wrapping his arms around her. Rouge pressed her face into his warm body, sighing in contempt as she was held in that comforting embrace she was sure she would never receive from him. She only hoped he wouldn't let go.

"Did you really mean it though?" Rouge spoke softly as she positioned herself to meet his handsome gaze.

"I meant just about everything except that fact that I'm a suicidal wreck," Knuckles chuckled.

Rouge managed a weak laugh. "So… you do… you really…"

"Yeah I do," Knuckles admitted. "I don't know if I'll ever understand exactly why, and I have no idea how the future will hold out with it. But yeah, I sure as hell love you Batgirl…"

Rouge giggled. "I love you too, Knucklehead," she responded happily, locking her lips with his for a deep, passionate kiss. And Knuckles was kissing her back, with more vigor than she would have ever imagined. For minutes they stuck at it, the sensually between the two rising rapidly until an outright downpour began to shower down on them. The clouds had finally reached them.

"Looks like the storm has arrived," Rouge purred into his ear. "Bummer."

"Screw the rain," Knuckles answered. "Let it come down for all I care."

Rain continued to pour.

**Hope you guys enjoyed it, let me know what you thought! Flames are welcome if necessary; I'm man enough to take it!**


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